Monday, March 3, 2014

'Second Nature' at Albany Aiport Gallery

On exhibit: 'Second Nature' at Albany Aiport Gallery

Exhibit explores responses to a world modified by impact of
human activity

Words
like ''natural'' and ''organic'' imply goodness by association. But the more
they've become marketing buzzwords, the murkier their definitions have become.
The exhibition statement for "Second Nature," now on display at the
Albany International Airport Gallery, identifies the problem with such terms:
they once signified things we humans "haven't manufactured or meddled with."
Now, humans affect almost every aspect of nature through such things as global
warming and genetic modification. The show's artists deal with nature, and the
loaded terms we use to talk about it, in a multitude of ways.

Whimsy
is the province of Roberly Bell, as well. Her brightly colored fiberglass forms
resemble something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Bulging and bulbous, these figures
sprout fake flowers or found objects in mutated still life vignettes. The
objects she chooses — a china bird, a ceramic dog — underscore our fascination
with manufactured representations of nature.